...In midnight tolls, as darkness folds…

Tick.

"Ouch…"

A groan forced its way out of Caelus as he pushed himself back up, dreary eyes scanning the environment he'd found himself in.

It reminded the Trailblazer a lot of the glimmering hallways and endless beauty of the shops that could be found throughout Golden Hour, though the colors were drastically muted in comparison. The Family had never mentioned the existence of this location, just where was he?

The previous events were starting to return to his foggy mind. After leaving the dream's edge, he'd returned to meet with the rest of the Astral Express and plan their next move.

There was only one complication at the very end. That Masked Fool had intervened and knocked him unconscious, somehow taking him to the unknown location he now found himself in.

The Fool had said something to Caelus at the time about someone not being who they were. He closed his eyes in thought. There was still something missing in his recollection of these.

Right. It was strange of him to forget it so quickly. Had the Fool done something to tamper with his memory? The swirling mess of memorabilia that seemed a constant in this place was just as suspect, if only for the odd way everything seemed to be looking right at him.

The Dream Tickers– imitations of Penacony's famous Clockie– were present in the dozens, each in utter ruin. The cogs that made up their mechanical innards were spilling out, following the same path as all else that floated past a doorway and into the ebony hallways that stretched out from the room he found himself in.

Despite the extensive damage the machines had taken, their hands still moved as a normal clock would, albeit a little faster. A quick check on the Trailblazer's phone also confirmed his suspicions. They were all telling the correct time, around seven in the evening.

Something about them rubbed Caelus off incorrectly, prompting him to make a move quickly. Even if the corridors outside the lodge he'd woken up in were dark, a quick button press was enough to activate his flashlight and traverse the area without fear of the unseen.

Each careful footstep the Trailblazer made rang through his ears in the deafening silence, made worse by the predicament that he'd found himself a bit lost at the moment. Every turn made felt like he was defying the laws of reality,

inexplicably finding himself back where he'd been a minute ago, the quickening pace of his steps echoing through the crisp, cold air like garbled laughter.

Another round of doing the same things and ending up with the same result was all the convincing Caelus needed to stop for a minute. Going against all common sense of placement, a fireplace was situated in one of these corridors, providing a modicum of light against the unending darkness.

Slumping against the wall next to the source of heat, the Trailblazer tried to make sense of the layout of the maze he was exploring. It wasn't his imagination. Per turn he made towards the unknown, he'd always find himself back somewhere he already was before.

Why did that Masked Fool even bring him here? If she'd wanted to trap him, then he was sure plenty of options would work to greater effect. The good old rope around a chair, a locked room, or even a trash can sealed shut would have been much better at keeping him stuck in one spot.

Tick.

Caelus stared into the still flame that continued to release its warmth. The Fool mentioned someone else, that shrouded piece of the puzzle he'd yet to find. A chill coursed through him, and he brought his hands closer to the fire to keep himself warm.

The heat brought a sense of homeliness that should not have been there like this warmth was where he belonged. The Trailblazer could see it clearly. A spectral pair of hands wrapped themselves around his own, the revelation striking like thunder.

Firefly.

Memories that had happened just before surfaced to the forefront of the scrambled thoughts that bounced haphazardly inside him. The thrill of breaking rules, sneaking through the edge of the dream. The brief moments they'd shared up there, where she lay bare the misfortune that befell her, and the eternally short dance that no one else but they would know.

Caelus' body went into overdrive once everything was sorted out. She was nowhere to be found near him when he'd woken up. Did that Masked Fool send them to separate locations? The Trailblazer had no idea how large this part of the dreamscape was, nor was his acute sense of navigation able to do its usual wonders.

Berating himself for forgetting, his thoughts had decided on a goal. Find out if Firefly was here, and find her if she was.

But first, Caelus had to break the stalemate between him and the dreamscape. If this place wanted to be a pain to deal with, then so would he.

In the spur of the moment, he brought out his baseball bat and moved away from the fireplace and to a wall that he hated more than the rest for no real reason. With a grunt, he took a swing at it.

His breath hitched when the strike didn't connect with it. The dreamscape physically moved to avoid his attack, as easily as dry sand would part when someone stepped on it.

Taking note of the odd behavior, Caelus looked at his new location. That same eeriness that was present before still greeted him, but the layout had donned an entirely different look.

Tick.

For the first time since the Trailblazer had woken up, another sound tore through the air. Any hopes he harbored of finding someone else were quickly dashed as what his ears caught was not that of a person but instead an inhuman growl that stopped him in his tracks.

The pitch was barely within the range of Caelus' hearing, but whatever created the noise was quite far away from him. With even more caution than before, he continued searching, given a boost in energy by his newfound goal.

The dreamscape had learned its lesson from his earlier provocation and no longer interfered with his pathfinding. Each twist around a corner, every door opened, brought something new, yet it didn't bring anything he needed.

Not a single sign of life or a clue of Firefly's whereabouts, and his constant avoidance of whatever was making those haunting sounds meant he couldn't stay in one place for long, as the screams grew louder the more he stayed put.

The notion of attacking a random wall to switch things up was tempting, to say the least. But it meant he'd have to start from square one all over again. His patience started to wear thin, so an idea started to form.

Rather than avoid the looming presence that was becoming a problem, Caelus would just bring whatever it was straight to him. So, he knocked on the walls with his finger, loud enough that anyone nearby would hear. As he'd expected– and feared– the screeching rapidly closed the distance.

Not willing to meet whatever was coming face to face, the Trailblazer moved a safe distance away from where he'd rapped the wall. Now, there was nothing to do but wait.

Having found this short reprieve, Caelus reflected on what that Masked Fool had said. So what if Firefly was hiding something from him? She herself had said as much, and he'd wait however long it took to hear her out.

Tick.

An unexplainable fear washed over him as something zoomed past the spot he'd been keeping an eye on, too fast for his eye to make out, aside from a single violet eye properly.

Caelus pushed that lump in his throat back down and went onwards. Whatever that creature was had gone to the parts of the dreamscape that he'd already passed through, giving him safe access to sections of the dream it had been patrolling and residing within earlier.

Strangely enough, the longer he wandered this uncharted territory, the more uniform it became, opposite how other parts of the dreamscape had acted.

It was as if the dream had an actual agenda instead of toying with him. If that were the case, he might apologize for trying to break it open with a baseball bat earlier.

Caelus' silent musings were cut short as his feet carried him into a familiar room. A mirror copy of the one he'd woken up in, and his eyes wouldn't have been able to tell the difference if it weren't for that.

The Trailblazer had joked to himself earlier about the note Firefly held having some mind of its own, but seeing it here made him reconsider whether it was actually possible.

He picked it up and skimmed through its contents to ensure it was indeed the same one that Firefly had. Upon seeing a new addition to the list, he couldn't help but smile at what it was.

That's one more reason to get out of here.

Caelus neatly folded it and put the paper in his pocket before leaving the lodge and going down a new path, coming directly in front of a huge stained glass door. His hand was already reaching out to open it, but he was beaten to it when the door moved on its own.

"Caelu–" Firefly's bewildered expression only grew even more surprised when the Trailblazer covered her mouth with a hand while telling her to stay silent with the other.

A roar echoed from behind him, louder than ever. Thinking fast, he was already starting to pull on the hinges of one-half of the door shut. Firefly did the same, making sure to do so with minimal noise.

The silence that Caelus had thought to be slowly killing him when he'd first awoken would turn out to be the greatest thing to hear when the muffled cries outside died out.

That didn't necessarily mean it was safe to talk now, but Firefly's face told him she was thinking the same thing. To kill the time, he looked at where they'd trapped themselves.

It was an imperfect copy of the Reverie Hotel's entrance. Everything dulled down to the commonplace style in this unknown part of the dream.

Tick.

A plaintive tune wafted through the stiff air, inviting him in with something resembling the wails of a child.

Caelus followed the trail, bringing him to the only table in the entire hotel with a functioning lamp alongside a disheveled radio that was operating at full capacity despite its poor state.

It was better than pressing their backs against a door, at least. After he'd suggested they go there with hand signals, they first barricaded the door with everything they could handle without making much noise. After seeing just how fast the creature was earlier, there was no way anything they had on hand could stop it, but it was better than leaving the door as is.

"What was that out there?" Still unwilling to take the risk, they spoke in hushed whispers, barely audible over the radio that served as a third occupant of the table. Was it just him, or did it sound even more like crying than before?

"I don't know, and I'd rather not find out." He admitted. The various members of the Sweet Dreams Troupe were fitted with safety hazards that were unbefitting of their role, and one encounter with the nefarious Dreamjolt Troupe was all one needed to know that they were plenty dangerous with the proper intent.

"Oh…" Her eyes adorned a cautious look as she glanced at the barricaded door, their one defense against that thing.

Not again. The mood was starting to take a sour turn again. This time, however, he was plenty prepared.

"…Listen," Caelus started to change the subject, "About what that Masked Fool said. Is it something to do with what you can't tell me yet?" Wait, that was a horrible topic to choose.

Firefly slowly nodded apprehensively, "I'd assume so. I'm truly sorry, but I can't do it yet."

The Trailblazer hummed in understanding, "I'll wait, no matter how long it takes."

The sensation of an item moving around in his pocket reminded him that he still had it, "By the way, I found this earlier."

Caelus brought out her little bucket list, sliding it towards Firefly as she looked at him, perplexed. When her eyes noticed it, one of her hands quickly flew up and covered a squeak as she took it back with a slight tint of red dusting her cheeks.

"You saw it, didn't you?" She twirled a strand of hair around, staring straight at the floor.

"Yeah," He chuckled as his hand went up to scratch his head, "It's alright. I also want to do the same."

Her crestfallen face perked up, "Really?"

"Really," The Trailblazer affirmed, deciding to change the subject again, "Do you know where we are?"

Firefly shook her head, "I was hoping you would."

So they were stuck in the same boat, so to speak, "It's going to be hard finding a way out with that thing outside–"

The individual hairs on Caelus' body stood on their ends. That unexplainable fear he'd felt once before was starting to creep back in. He could make out Firefly's look of concern but could not hear her words as his eyes darted to and fro the blocked doorway.

There wasn't anything around them, so…

"...Above?"

The Trailblazer hated how right he was. His hand had already grabbed onto Firefly as he pulled her away from the table right before a huge shadowy mass crashed into it, shrieking and writhing.

How did it get in? The entryway they had barricaded was completely intact. It just made no sense. They grimly noted that that blockade was now their only means of escape as they stopped near it.

Caelus turned to Firefly, "Can you get the door open?"

She nodded, "It'll take some time."

"Use this." He passed her his baseball bat. Looking away, he took a step towards their intruder.

Nothing about the enemy in front of him appeared natural. Covered in razor-sharp blades and murderous eyes all over, it was like a bastardized raven that had come to bring them to an end.

In his hands, the Lance of the Architects came to being, the protective aura of the Preservation stating to the creature that it would not pass. He wouldn't, so long as she was behind him.

Blades protruded from its body as it pressed the attack, unfazed by the barrier the lance erected.

Yet with every slash the beast made, Caelus' shield would hold. The glow of the amber bulwark was stronger than ever, fully absorbing the force of every attack to minimize the strain on his arms.

Just a little longer. Then they could escape, but to where?

"Now!" Firefly called out from behind him. He steeled himself, setting all thoughts of what came next aside. He wouldn't get another chance.

As it went in for another jab at the barrier, Caelus deliberately brought the shield down, the bladed wing of the beast passing harmlessly overhead.

He thrust the Architect's Lance forward, catching the creature square in the face and releasing a burst of fire that made it recoil, if only for a moment.

A moment was likely all they would get. Without skipping a beat, the Trailblazer spun on his heel and made a mad dash for the exit, where Firefly awaited.

For that single instance, escape looked possible. They would get out of here, meet up with the rest of the Astral Express, and investigate deeper into the Watchmaker's legacy and what exactly the Family was hiding in the dreamscape.

Then darkness crept up from behind. A rift of sorts had formed behind Firefly, and to his horror, that wing of blades was coming out of it. She'd already noticed and was trying to evade, but it was obvious which was faster by a long shot.

Using the lance still in his hands, he launched himself forward with jets of flame, intending to skewer the monster before it could do any more harm. That plan went out the window when it merely retreated back into the portal from whence it came, the pointed edge of his weapon only finding an empty space where the beast once was.

Then Caelus felt a tug on his arm, "Look out!"

The monster had reappeared from behind, and Firefly had pushed him out of harm's way. She wasn't as lucky.

He was forced to watch as the blade slid right through her chest, unable to do anything as time lost all meaning and the moment stretched into eternity. When things sped up to normal, all he could see was red.

"Firefly!" The Trailblazer hurled his lance at the distracted creature, finally landing a blow. The beast screeched in what must have been agony, letting go of her and retreating into another of those rifts.

Caelus spread his arms out to catch Firefly's limp body, but even that was to no avail. Her body dispersed into the glowing blue liquid that made up everything in the dreamscape, splattering him and the ground until it was nothing more than a stain on the grey carpet.

He fell to his knees, no longer able to stand. Next to his hand, a certain note found its way there.

The Trailblazer picked it up, unable to control himself as he screamed. Caelus noticed something else falling from his face but ignored it, even as it soaked his clothing and further muddied the rug he was on. It was fine to add another blemish or two, right?

Tick.

...I see your tears when we say goodbye…